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Topic: Repotting of Ponderosa Pine (Read 9033 times)

Hello, I have a collected Ponderosa Pine that has been in a pot for 1 year. I purchased it from Golden Arrow. I have read online that Ponderosas should be re-potted in bonsai soil as soon as possible and make sure you have removed as much of the original collected native soil as possible. Any thoughts on this? I live in Zone 6, is it the right time for me to repot this pine?

When did Andy collect this pine? Is it extremely healthy? Dark green waxy needles, growing candles, new back budding? If not, wait another year. IMO. i have one collected last spring and though it's growing, it doesn't look the healthiest. I'm leaving it for another 1-2 yrs.

Thanks for the reply. It has been in the pot for 1 year. I read a post of Walter Pall's that said get ponderosas out of their native soil as soon as possible in this forum. It looks healthy, but would it be healthier if it was put in bonsai soil?

I have zero (0) Ponderosa Pines. My understanding though, is that they decline in their native soil once they're potted up so its recommended to get them out of that as quickly as possible. Walter (I believe) suggests doing it almost immediately.

Mine has some aggregate, but a large portion of dirt. I'm interested in finding out if anyone has done what Walter Pall seems to suggest - repot the ponderosa in bonsai soil and remove native soil as soon as possible.

I've collected quite a few Ponderosa, and have about an 80% survival rate. Personally, I think the choice of which tree to collect has had the most effect on my success.

When I bring a collected tree home, I try to remove as much of the native soil as will come off easily. I don't worry about getting all of it. Then I pot up in something very freely draining, and make sure the tree is secure in the pot. These trees then sit on a pea gravel bed on the north side of the house for a year, and get buried in the pea gravel over the winter. Usually when I pull them out of the gravel the next spring I can see roots growing out of the pot. At that point, I pull them out of the pot, remove most of the rest of the native soil, and repot as before.

If this tree were mine, I would gently pull it and examine the roots. If they are growing well, I would try to remove most or all of the native soil. If the roots are iffy, I would only remove the native soil that comes off rather easily.

Yes. Actually Andy (golden arrow) does this when he has time, and if you ever participate in his "Bare root bonanza" internet sale, he sends the tree as collected, with very good instructions on how to clean the root ball. I think the point needs to be made that all of the folks suggesting that getting the rotting organic guck off of the roots are not suggesting the use of a high pressure hose nozzle. If you use water, make sure that it is gentle and the roots are teased apart using chopsticks or tweezers or the like, it takes time and as Brian said above you don't need to get every bit off, you can get the loose stuff later when the tree is repotted during subsequent maintenance work. John

Chris, I should clarify - they sit on the north side of the house (morning and late afternoon sun) only for the first summer after collection, and each winter buried in the pea gravel. After the firs summer, they are out in full sun. I'm not sure if the extra shade after collection is essential, but I can tell you they do well with this treatment.